I am Seattle Center – Center Spotlighthttp://centerspotlight.seattle.gov
Seattle Center news and eventsFri, 18 Jan 2019 19:52:51 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.9We Met at the Center – Kath Nyborg’s Storyhttp://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/2018/02/14/we-met-at-the-center-kath-nyborgs-story/
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 22:55:17 +0000http://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/?p=952Katherine Nyborg, known as Kath to her friends and colleagues, met her future husband for a dance at Seattle Center when they were in college at Seattle Pacific University. On-campus dances were forbidden, and so the college students organized so-called “functions” at the Center instead.

They met in the Snoqualmie Room, now the home of The Vera Project. It was their first date – and how nice it was to get together outside the formal academic environment, where they could listen to music and talk more informally – to better get to know one another.

From that first date on, Seattle Center represented neutral, creative ground on which they could explore the arts and theater (since they were both theater majors), or spend sunny days by the fountain. For Kath, who moved to Seattle for college from Southern Cal., the Center really reflected the greater Seattle area, rooted in the core of the region between mountains and water. It was a hub for arts, culture and community, where all kinds of people came to experience the best of what Seattle had to offer – a magical place.

Now many years later, Seattle Center remains a place of magic for Kath, although her years of employment here have given her a deeper respect for what the Center accomplishes. This enduring place has matured in her eyes, and although the Center has grown older along with her, she’s excited at the younger generations who continue to nourish and rejuvenate this gathering place. Likewise, Kath’s marriage has continued and matured, always remaining connected to the Center.

JEFFREY COOK is a local designer and theatrical artisan. He can often be found working at Seattle Children’s Theatre, but this time of year, you’ll see his mastery at Seattle Center Winterfest, our seasonal celebration kicking off this week. Jeffrey designed all the décor.

“Design should be something that influences people in the moment and that they will remember for many years to come – something that transports people away from their everyday life into a new, wonderful and special place that gives them a feeling of being somewhere else, or having a special experience in that point in time. Usually, it needs to be something that’s visually interesting, and for Winterfest we strive for visually attractive and uplifting and magical.”

]]>I Am Seattle Center-Laurie Metzingerhttp://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/2017/11/15/i-am-seattle-center-laurie-metzinger/
Wed, 15 Nov 2017 20:12:26 +0000http://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/?p=928LAURIE METZINGER started working at Seattle Center as a scenic artist for Pacific Northwest Ballet. From there, she began working on Winterfest Train & Village, where she has served as installation lead and decorator since 1988.

“I’m turning the reins over this coming year to a woman named Colleen Gwen, who’s been working with me for two years, learning the ropes. It’s a really physical job. When you’re setting it up, you’re up and down on your knees fifty times a day. It’s really hard work. And I think it’s kind of time for somebody with new ideas. So I’m turning it over to her next year, but I’m going to be working as her helper. She’s going to be fantastic. She’s a stagehand at the Ballet, but she’s totally into tiny things, and has a great sense of design and all that, so I’m really happy. I told JulieAnn, my boss, two or three years ago, and said ‘You know, I’m going to be wanting to retire from this, it’s getting really hard, and I’m running out of ideas,’ and she said ’You know, I think I’ve found somebody really great. Come and meet her, and see if you guys get along.’ And we just liked each other immediately. . . so it’s a good circle of things.”

]]>I am Seattle Center-Andrew Steenhttp://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/2017/11/15/i-am-seattle-center-andrew-steen/
Wed, 15 Nov 2017 18:56:16 +0000http://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/?p=926ANDREW STEEN, Technical Coordinator at Seattle Center Productions. Andrew is most often seen working behind the scenes to make sure events like Concerts at the Mural, Winterfest, and Festál cultural festivals happen smoothly and successfully from an operations and technical standpoint.

“One of the things that attracted me to this position was a way to give back to the community and still earn a living. That’s one of the key things that keeps me going. The fact that the work I do benefits the community as a whole is very exciting and gratifying. I’m excited for the future of Seattle Center in that, in the past few years, it seems the leaders of this city, both political and community, have decided that Seattle Center is a valuable resource for the community and that it is worth investing in. This is a place, a series of venues, a place of employment, a place of gathering. It is a focal point of energy, it is a tourist destination, it is a lot of things to a lot of people and it is gratifying and heartening to know that our communities value that. It reflects, it all reflects. Hopefully, our leaders will listen and do what’s right and what’s necessary to continue our work.”

“I am an artist in my own right. I freelance as a designer—I design costumes and scenery for different theater companies in town. I’ve also worked in arts administrations jobs—I was an education director at a theater company, I’ve been a company manager and a production manager. So my job at Seattle Center is really ideal in the sense that I am still working in the field of arts. I’m collaborating with a lot of artists that I might actually collaborate with in other arenas in my life. I’m also working with the resident organizations on campus. It’s really great to have multiple points of connection. It gives me so much satisfaction to be able to offer a paying gig to a struggling artist that I know is worth every penny and more. To be able to give them a high profile venue and a large audience and a paycheck, it’s just really satisfying. Part of my job is being sort of an artist advocate and making sure that we treat artists well and represent the diversity out there.”

]]>I am Seattle Center-Jeffrey Parrish, DDShttp://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/2017/10/25/i-am-seattle-center-jeffrey-parrish-dds/
Wed, 25 Oct 2017 19:01:36 +0000http://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/?p=913JEFFREY PARRISH, DDS, serves as the Dental Director for Seattle/King County Clinic, a 4-day free health clinic at KeyArena for those who need help accessing care. Here he speaks about the value of the clinic in this region.

“Haiti is a very poor country; it doesn’t have a lot of infrastructure, so in terms of going over there to do dentistry, it’s relatively easy. There’s not a whole lot of bureaucracy to deal with. Here, it’s a huge bureaucratic challenge. The bureaucracy is much larger in a place like Seattle. But the essence of it is the same: some person has a need, and some person is able to satisfy that need.

Here, in America, much of it is priorities. People will buy a big screen TV but won’t go to the dentist. Then, there’s a certain segment of the population who can’t take care of themselves. The State of Washington does not have a good safety net for people who absolutely do not have resources, and so the clinic provides a teeny-tiny piece of that safety net. When one takes on a part of the healing arts, one takes on certain responsibilities. You don’t just get to charge everybody you see. You have, in my mind, an obligation to take care of those who can’t take care of themselves.” Photo by Auston James.

MARIKA YAPLEE, is a student at Seattle University and is heavily involved in their athletics department, including the SU men’s basketball team, which plays in KeyArena at Seattle Center. Here, Marika speaks about the balance of school and sports

“In almost every class, in every major, there’s going to be an athlete. And they don’t act as though they’re better than you because they’re an athlete and because they have a scholarship and things like that. Sometimes they’re the ones that need the most help and the most friendship, just because they’re traveling so much, and sometimes don’t get to make a lot of connections with people outside of the team. So it’s nice to see them in class and interact with them–they’re definitely normal people. It’s not like a big university, where athletes are on a whole different level than you are. Everyone’s going through the same stresses and struggles, so we definitely try to help each other out as much as we can.”

]]>I am Seattle Center-Tom Henninghttp://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/2017/10/11/i-am-seattle-center-tom-henning/
Wed, 11 Oct 2017 19:01:47 +0000http://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/?p=897TOM HENNING worked in broadcasting and advertising, before retiring and becoming an usher at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall ten years ago. When he was a boy, he took the train with his grandmother to see operas at the Met.

“The everyday job is working at an aisle, and helping people find their seats, and helping them with little extra things that they might need. The most asked question: where’s the restroom?

The job never gets old. I’ve worked 41 Nutcrackers. I look forward to every day. This is more than just a job, this is fun. I get enthused about it. I’ve been to a lot of opera houses, in Europe and the United States and all that. I’d say this is right up at the top. The whole place is wonderful. I work with just top-flight people. We have a wonderful head usher, wonderful associates. I’m very pleased with everything. I don’t think I’ve ever had a single complaint about anything, except for my feet sometimes hurt. That’s about it.”

“I walked into the building one day, and I was walking next to a woman who looked like a tourist. She came in through the doors, and right when she got into the open area of the Armory, she stopped and went, “Oh wow! I haven’t been in here in 20 years. This is amazing.” And she was talking about how cool it was and how great it looked, and ‘look at all the great restaurants, and I’m going to come back here for lunch.’ That was very cool. And I told her that I actually manage this building, and she was, like, ‘You do? What a fun job!’ People say that to me all the time.”

“One of the things I find that surprises me intermittently on a regular basis through my entire career is [that] I will periodically be walking across campus and all of a sudden I will realize, I work in such a cool place! Like, look around you. Usually it’s springtime. The sun is shining, there are people playing in the fountain, there’s the Space Needle, there’s all this grass. What a cool place to work. And I still do that, I still do that–like, lift your head up a little bit from going through your day, and realize, I work at a park! Or this building, it’s such a great building to work in. It’s so great.”

#IAmSeattleCenter #Armory #tourist #coolplace #funjob

]]>I Am Seattle Center-Marvin Walkerhttp://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/2017/09/28/i-am-seattle-center-marvin-walker/
Thu, 28 Sep 2017 22:38:45 +0000http://centerspotlight.seattle.gov/?p=884MARVIN WALKER is a “resident” at Seattle Center. He spends much of his day inside the Armory, where he is recognized by staff and patrons alike.

“There was at particular time when I first started coming here where you could do what you needed to do and be by yourself for the most part. So if I needed to do paperwork or do something on the internet I could just do whatever I needed to do. It was comfortable at that time. You didn’t really have to be bothered with anybody. At other places you go it’s kind of crowded, more condensed. Here, it’s not as sociable so people are doing their own things and it’s very, very quiet. . . almost too quiet sometimes.

Inside the building has changed a lot. Some people say, I guess, that there’s less stuff down here than there was. It is a little bit roomier, but on days like this it’s very gloomy, especially during the wintertime when there’s not a lot going on and fewer people. But on concert nights people come in and the place fills up.

So if I decided, if I was a regular person and just got off work, or if I was a visitor, I’d probably just come in here and spend more time in here than I would outside. ”